Coach Brady Hoke said Monday that Devin Gardner, who has started the past four games at quarterback for Robinson, suffered an ankle injury against Ohio State. The junior has been spotted around campus wearing a walking boot.

But Hoke expects Gardner to be healthy in time to participate in Michigan's first practice Friday for the Outback Bowl. The 19th-ranked Wolverines (8-4) will face No. 11 South Carolina (10-2) on Jan. 1 in Tampa, Fla.

"He'll be fine by the time we get started on Friday," Hoke said.

Robinson damaged a nerve in his throwing elbow Oct. 27 against Nebraska and has not started at quarterback since. He has played the past two games, though, alternating between tailback, receiver and quarterback (without throwing).

That accentuates the importance of Gardner's health. It's unclear who the quarterback is behind Gardner and Robinson.

Gardner has been largely terrific at quarterback, guiding Michigan to a 3-1 record down the stretch. He completed 57-of-90 passes (63.3 percent) for 1,005 yards, eight touchdowns and four interceptions, and also rushed for 77 yards and seven touchdowns.

He has 19 touchdowns overall this season, which leads the team.

Hoke isn't worried about Gardner's health, noting the nearly two weeks between the end of the regular season and the start of bowl practice allows players to heal.

"They go through this grind," Hoke said. "It's good for all of them to heal up a little bit.

"Getting them away from the pounding helps them all."

Hoke said Robinson continues to improve from the nerve damage in his throwing elbow.

Left tackle Taylor Lewan also is banged up, suffering a left shoulder injury in the regular-season finale against Ohio State, but said over the weekend he doesn't expect to be limited when practice resumes.

Kyle Meinke covers Michigan football for MLive.com. He can be reached by email at kmeinke@mlive.com and followed on Twitter @kmeinke.